Erin Murphy is a second year PhD student in the Biology and Society Program working with Dr. Leah Gerber and Dr. Beth Polidero. She researches the impacts of plastic pollution on marine communities in the Philippines and evaluated the efficicacy and cost of different intervention strategies to identify the best policy solutions.

Before coming to ASU, Erin completed her Masters thesis research in Curacao, studying the effects of poorly treated human sewage pollution on coral physiology and disease susceptibility. After completing her Masters degree she worked as an ORISE research fellow in the Environmental Protection Agency's Ocean and Coastal Management Branch in Washington D.C. In this role, Erin researched the impacts of land-based sources of pollution, regulated under the Clean Water Act, on coral reef ecosystems. Additionally, she worked with the vessels, marinas and ports team to evaluate existing federal policy on vessel sewage pollution and develop educational resources for recreational boaters.